


Not Real

by saint_troll



Series: Not... [1]
Category: The Cell (2000)
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2003-02-03
Updated: 2003-02-03
Packaged: 2017-10-26 11:22:40
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/282463
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/saint_troll/pseuds/saint_troll
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Detective Peter Novak enters Carl Stargher's mind to rescue Catherine Deane, reality blurs.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Not Real

**Author's Note:**

> Transferring my work from livejournal to here.

Detective Peter Novak's eyes flutter open. He is bound spread-eagle to a canopied bed by his writs and ankles with leather cords. _I'm in Stargher's world. Why can't I get up? This isn't suppose to be real!_

Stargher King stands over him. His papal gown flows down to the floor and blends into it as if Stargher himself is a part of the floor. Silently Stargher King prepares for his ritual execution of Novak. He polishes and aranges a varied assortment of tools that look like demented dentistry equipment. Light shimmers off the silver macabre paraphenelia.

Novak shuts his eyes. _It is not real, not real!_ He opens his eyes and searches the room for the woman he risked entering this world to save. Before he blacked out he'd ran into her, but she wasn't herself. She'd become one of Stargher's victim/dolls. Novack sees her in a dark corner and yells out, "You're Catherine Deane." _You HAVE to remember. I can't leave you here. Remember!_ "You majored in Psych at UC San Diego. You work for Sunerset Industries." Catherin shows no signs of recognition.

Stargher King's plays idley with an array of horrific instruments. He traces his fingers along the throat piercer/collar mechanism, a cleaver knife, a misshapen hammer, an a long slender needle. A smile spreads across his face as he turns his whitened eyes towards Novak.

The detective struggles against his binds. _Catherine, I'm not giving up on you!_ "Your grandmother raised you after your parents died in a car crash..."

Stargher King lifts the needle. Catherine still acts as if Novak is speaking gibberish.

Novak continues, "When you were twenty-one, you were arrested for possession and got off with community service."

Stargher King slices through Novak's clothes, exposing the flesh of his abdomen. Novak gasps. Stargher King licks his golden lips as he pulls Novaks shredded clothes from the bound man's body.

 _This isn't real, Pete. Not real._ Novak looks up to see Stargher King's stares burning through him. The bleached face eyes Novak's bared stomach muscles and smiles. Novak stutters to himself, "Not real, Pete...This is not real..." then yells out urgently to Catherine again, "You had to work at a center for abused kids for three months. You stayed on two years for no pay. You give half your fucking salary to the nursing home your grandmother stays at..."

Stargher King grabs Novak's throat and traces the blade down the center of Novak's torso. Novak lets out a slight moan as the coolness of the blade presses against his flesh. _Fuck, don't moan. He's not just playing around here. He's going to slice you open! You have to save Catherine!_ He struggles to separate his body from the blade He yells at Catherine again, "I know this because I work for the FBI. Peter Novak, remember?!?! Remember. You are Cath-"

Stargher King cuts Novak's flesh slightly. Novak yelps. A small trail of blood leaks out of the wound. Stargher King leans forward and licks the gash, sucking at the damaged skin. Novak moans. _Stop it! He's only going to cut you open. You are not meant to enjoy this!_ Stargher King stands again and smiles eerily down at the detective. Novak cries out Catherine's name.

Stargher King brings the blade up to one of Novak's nipples casually cutting paper-thing slices into the surrounding flesh. Novak's eyes roll back. He's hardening in his pants. _Pete, he's only going to slice you open. No matter how erotic he makes it, you are still going to end up gutted._ Novak closes his eyes. He sees himself collared and bleached, another victim/doll in Stargher's collection. When Stargher King drags the knife over to his other nipple, Novak shies away from it. Stargher King frowns. His toy is no longer playing along. He drags the blade back down to Novak's stomach and inserts it into his stomach. Novak screams. Gasping for breath as the blade digs deeper within him, the detective screams, "Help me!!!"

Stargher King wiggles the needle, pulls it out, and digs his finger into the wound. Novak wails in pain, tears are streaming down his face. Stuttering he whimpers, "F-fucking F-F-FEELS reeeal!"

In the darkened corner there's a glimmer of life. Recognition sparks in Catherine's eyes.

The Stargher King speaks, "Me god gut you like a deer." He fishes around inside Novak's wound, and tears out what appears to be a section of Novak's intestines. Stargher King attaches the gore to a rotisseire-like mechanism and begins grinding the gears tighter.

Novak is pale and sweating. He tries to stay conscious. _Don't go into shock, don't go into shock. It's not real. It's not real._ He whispers in a desperate mantra, "Not real. Not real. Not real." A female hand grabs a tool from the tray.

Stargher King laughs and mimicks Novak, "Nod reel, nod reel, nod reel..." Stargher Kings squeals horribly as a blade goes through his neck. Gagging, he stumbles away

Catherine has returned to normal. As Stargher King emits an animalistic growl, Novak finds himself standing next to Catherine as if nothing had happened.

Novak reaches for the the switch on his wrist. His fingers tracing lines along his un-cut stomach, he shudders as his body is pulled back to reality. _It wasn't real. It wasn't real._


End file.
